======================================================= FIRE PRO WRESTLING RETURNS CHARACTER GUIDE: KEIJI MUTOH ======================================================= for Sony PlayStation 2 (U.S.) Version 1.1 by Bill Wood (billwood661@ca.rr.com) Last modified: 12/27/07 Fire Pro Wrestling Returns (c) 2005 Spike (c) 2007 Agetec NOTE: This guide views and prints best with a monospace typeface. ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA =================== ==VERSION HISTORY== =================== 1.1 - Minor corrections. 1.0 - Initial release of the guide. ===================== ==TABLE OF CONTENTS== ===================== SECTION 1: HISTORY OF KEIJI MUTOH SECTION 2: SKILL AND PARAMETER STATS SECTION 3: MOVELIST SECTION 4: STRATEGY SECTION 5: CLOSING ===================================== ==SECTION 1: HISTORY OF KEIJI MUTOH== ===================================== The tale of the wrestling career of Keiji Mutoh is really the tale of two wrestlers; Keiji Mutoh, the brilliant technician, and the Great Muta, his masked alter-ego. Mutoh is as respected as they come in Japan, earning a spot in the top 25 of the PWI 500 for the majority of his career. He has won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 3 times, the NWA Heavyweight Championship the AJPW and IWGP Tag Team Championships along with other international titles along the way. As Muta (who is a completely separate wrestler in Fire Pro Returns under the Olive Japan promotion), he was NWA Television Champion in the U.S. in 1989, beating Sting for the title. The Great Muta eventually joined Masahiro Chono's nWo Japan stable and later became WCW Tag Team Champion with Vampiro. With the dawn of the new millennium, Mutoh found himself at a crossroads in his career. The Great Muta gimmick was retired (but resurrected later in AJPW), and the nWo Japan stable had run its course. And so, like so many other wrestlers have done in the past, Mutoh reinvented himself, changing his look and wrestling style. He shaved off his long hair and grew a goatee, becoming the "Cross Wizard" Keiji Mutoh. The new gimmick exploded, and Mutoh became more popular than ever. He also started using an all-new finisher, the "Shining Wizard", a move that took the puroresu world by storm. The move is now a staple of many Japanese wrestling matches and is used by many performers from Taiyo Kea to Jun Akiyama, and even comedic wrestlers such as Ebessan and Stalker Ishikawa (with equally comedic results). WWE wrestler Gregory Helms also adopted his own version of the move. In 2001, Keiji Mutoh won All Japan Pro Wrestling's prestigious Triple Crown Championship with an intense victory over Genichiro Tenryu, a match hailed by puroresu fans as one of the best of the year. Because Mutoh was working for longtime rival New Japan Pro Wrestling at the time, this was seen as a major coup. Yet it would not be the only shocking development. With Mutoh's popularity at perhaps an all-time high, All Japan would lure Mutoh away from New Japan just months later, making him a permanent part of their roster. Not only did he become a full-time All Japan wrestler, but he also began to play an increasingly important role in booking and managing the promotion. Recommended Mutoh match: 2001 Triple Crown match vs. Genichiro Tenryu ======================================== ==SECTION 2: SKILL AND PARAMETER STATS== ======================================== SKILL ----- Real Name....................Keiji Mutoh FPR Name......................Ken Shundo Organization.....All Japan Pro Wrestling FPR Organization.............Olive Japan FPR Group....................Olive Japan Size..............................Medium Class..............................Heavy Height............................188 cm Weight............................110 kg Gender..............................Male Birthdate.....................10/13/1962 Country............................Japan Rank...................................A Charisma...............................A Stance.........................Technical Fight Style...................Technician Return........................All Around Critical........................Finisher Special..........................Stardom Recovery..........................Medium Recovery (when bleeding)..........Medium Breathing.........................Medium Breathing (when bleeding).........Medium Spirit............................Medium Spirit (when bleeding)............Medium Neck Endurance....................Normal Arm Endurance.....................Normal Back Endurance......................High Leg Endurance........................Low Movement Speed...............Medium Fast Up and Down Speed.................Medium Ascent Style.........................Run Favorite Weapon.....................none PARAMETER - OFFENSE PARAMETER - DEFENSE ------------------- ------------------- Punch.............5 Punch.............7 Kick..............5 Kick..............7 Throw.............7 Throw.............8 Joint.............7 Joint.............8 Stretch...........7 Stretch...........7 Power.............6 Flying............8 Agility...........9 Body..............7 Arm...............6 Lariat............6 Technical.........8 Technical.........9 Rough.............7 Rough.............8 MMA Overall.......4 MMA Overall.......5 Entertain.........2 Entertain.........8 ------------------- ------------------- OFF. SUB-TOTAL...73 DEF. SUB-TOTAL...88 TOTAL SKILL POINTS (on a scale from 0-380): 206 ======================= ==SECTION 3: MOVELIST== ======================= Specialty moves are marked with [S]. Finisher is marked with [F]. KEY: ([]) = Square button (X) = X button (O) = Circle button STRIKES ------- Standing ([])...............................Thigh Kick Standing (X)................................Elbow Bunt Standing (O) + d-pad..................Rolling Solebutt Standing (O).........................Spinning Dropkick Standing ([]) + (X).......................Low Dropkick Running ([])..............................Face Crusher Running (X)..........................Spinning Dropkick Running (O)..........................Jumping Knee Kick Running Counter ([])......................Low Dropkick Running Counter (X).....................Back Body Drop Running Counter (O).....................Frankensteiner Running to corner..................Space Rolling Elbow Co-op Irish whip to corner.........Space Rolling Elbow Corner-to-center attack.................SHINING WIZARD [S] GRAPPLES -------- Grapple ([])...............................Elbow Smash Grapple ([]) + Up....................Leg Grab and Trip Grapple ([]) + Left/Right..................Flying Mare Grapple ([]) + Down.................Elbow Stamp to Leg Grapple (X)...............................Low Dropkick Grapple (X) + Up...........................Brainbuster Grapple (X) + Left/Right...........Schmidt Backbreaker Grapple (X) + Down....................Jumping Backdrop Grapple (O)................................Cobra Twist Grapple (O) + Up..................Rolling Inferno Kick Grapple (O) + Left/Right............RAPID DRAGON SCREW [S] Grapple (O) + Down......................SHINING WIZARD [F] Grapple ([]) + (X)....................Gotch Piledriver Back Grapple ([])...........................Neck Smash Back Grapple (X)..........................Face Crusher Back Grapple (O)..........................Sleeper Hold Back Grapple (O) + Up/Down..........Victory X Arm Hold Back Grapple (O) + Left/Right............German Suplex Back Grapple ([]) + (X)..................Dragon Suplex Back Grapple Counter ([])...................Elbow Bunt Back Grapple Counter (X).................Overhead Kick OPPONENT DOWN MOVES ------------------- Opponent Face Up at Head (X)......Both Hands Press Pin Opponent Face Up at Head (O)..................Key Lock Opponent Face Up at Feet (X).......FIGURE FOUR LEGLOCK [S] Opponent Face Up at Feet (O).............Achilles Hold Opponent Face Down at Head (X)....Both Hands Press Pin Opponent Face Down at Head (O)..............X Arm Hold Opponent Face Down at Feet (X)...Rev. Indian Deathlock Opponent Face Down at Feet (O)..........Stomping (leg) Running at Downed Opponent (O)..........Flashing Elbow MMA MOVES --------- Guard Attack ([])........................Knuckle Arrow Guard Attack (X)............................X Arm Hold Guard Attack (O)...................Figure Four Leglock Guard Counter...............................X Arm Hold Mount/Facelock Attack ([])..............Face Knee Lift Mount/Facelock Attack (X)..............Front Neck Lock Mount/Facelock Attack (O)..................Back Switch Mount/Facelock Counter......................Hammerlock Back Mount Attack ([])...................Knuckle Arrow Back Mount Attack (X)............................Elbow Back Mount Attack (O).......................X Arm Hold Back Mount Counter..............................Escape POST AND APRON MOVES -------------------- Post ([]).............................Diving Knee Drop Post (X)...........................ROUNDING BODY PRESS [S] Post (O)..................................Missile Kick Post ([]) + (X).......................Low Missile Kick Running Post Dive ([])............................none Running Post Dive (X).............................none Corner Grapple (O) + Up...........Top Rope Huracanrana Corner Grapple (O) + Left/Right....Corner Low Dropkick Corner Grapple (O) + Down........Top Rope Dragon Screw Corner (Top Rope) Counter [F]...............Elbow Bunt Corner (Top Rope) Counter [B]................Fall Back Inside Apron Grapple..............Inferno Dragon Screw Outside Apron Grapple..............Landing Brainbuster Run to outside............................Suicide Dive Dive out ring..........................Plancha Suicida Dive in ring........................Swan Dive Dropkick Cage Dive.........................................none DOUBLE AND TRIPLE TEAM MOVES ---------------------------- Front Double Team......................Double Dropkick Back Double Team.......................Double Backdrop Corner Double Team......................Shining Impact Front Triple Team...................Triple Hammer Blow Back Triple Team....................Triple Hammer Blow Corner Triple Team..................Triple Hammer Blow PERFORMANCE ----------- Entry Performance.......................Hands Gut Pose Analog Stick Left........................Magician Pose Analog Stick Right.........................Hands Cross Analog Stick Up.....................Fist and Arm Raise Analog Stick Down.............................Gut Pose ======================= ==SECTION 4: STRATEGY== ======================= GENERAL STRATEGY If you're new to Fire Pro (as well as the world of Japanese wrestling), you should know that Mutoh is pretty much a powerhouse. His strikes are rather average, but his grapples are really where it's at. In the offensive stat department, he has 7's and 8's in every major category, plus his 9 Agility rating gives him some serious ammo when it comes to moves in that particular category. Defensively, Mutoh's stats are well stacked, and he only takes a backseat to icons like Jumbo Tsuruta and Antonio Inoki. As a result, you can take a pretty serious beating with Mutoh and still manage to mount a comeback. And since Mutoh's Special Skill is "Stardom", don't forget to taunt ("Magician Pose" preferred!) if you're getting beat down in a close match. This may actually make the difference between winning and losing! In a nutshell, your primary focus should always be on grappling. Win your grapples, then immediately go to work on submissions from the ground. The new-era Mutoh is definitely more grounded than he was in his early days, and really likes to lock on those long submission holds. So knock your opponent to the mat and use some "psychology" on those limbs! STRIKES Unfortunately Mutoh's strikes are pretty lackluster in FPR. Dropkicks can be particularly dreadful in any Fire Pro game, and Mutoh has two of them in his striking set. If you want to work a realistic Mutoh-style match, no match is complete without several low dropkicks, but if your focus is solely on winning the match, a more practical striking option would be the Elbow Bunt, it looks great and is dead easy to connect with. And although it's not technically classified as a strike, the "running at downed opponent" Flashing Elbow is a must at least once in every Keiji Mutoh match. GRAPPLES As bland as Mutoh's strikes are, his grapples are just the opposite. If used correctly, Mutoh can be a very exciting and effective wrestler to use in FPR. Your primary source of offense as far as Mutoh grapples are concerned should be the Low Dropkick, the High Speed Dragon Screw, and of course, the Shining Wizard. Again, just about any grapple should chain into a submission from the ground. The Figure Four and the Reverse Indian Deathlock should be used repeatedly to wear down your opponent's legs. ====================== ==SECTION 5: CLOSING== ====================== In closing, I would like to thank Jason Blackhart for statistical information, and Michael "maikeru" Leal for movelist information. Fire ProWrestling Returns Character Guide: Keiji Mutoh (c)2007 Bill Wood